


Inverse Polarity

by CaraRose



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: But he's getting pulled back into the mess, But it works for this story, Dark Rey/Jedi Ben Solo AU, F/M, Female Knights of Ren, No First Order, No Snoke Pickles, Rey Palpatine, Sorry we're all out of Snoke Pickles, Technically it's ex-jedi Ben, They Rey's girls, Yes a Palpatine, Yes that makes me throw up in my mouth a little, all of them - Freeform, no Snoke
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-08
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:55:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22169752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaraRose/pseuds/CaraRose
Summary: Waking up with your uncle holding a lit lightsaber over you can damage your trust and faith, even if he flicks it off immediately and you're left staring confused and not sure what the hell just happened. So when it happened to Ben, he left the temple and went home to his mother, helping her with the Resistance--- an underground military organization that is dedicated to rooting out Imperial Remnants before they can grow into threats.Six years later, a new threat appears from the Unknown Regions, and his uncle shows up asking for Ben's help.A new danger. A new threat. And for Ben Solo, the realization that the dark side can be more tempting than he ever imagined.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 19
Kudos: 83





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello friends and readers! Have a giant first chapter of this plot bunny attacked and consumed me.

“This was a bad idea,” Ben said, reaching up to shift some of the dangling wires out of the way.

The fighter was too low for him to sit up without cracking his head on the belly, and too high to reach through the acceleration compensator port while lying on his back. It meant that to try to do this repair he pretty much was hunching and contorting himself so he could get the welding and soldering finished.

Didn’t help at all that the compensator had a million wires that needed to be detached before he did the repair and now needed to be soldered back one by one. X-wings were the biggest pain in the ass when they came to maintenance. He shouldn’t have ever even started this damn repair.

A series of questioning beeps came from off to the side, a silver and blue sphere rolling into his peripheral view. He smiled, shaking his head as he singled out another wire and carefully found the correct contact to attach it to. “Thanks, Endy, but there’s not much you can do to help.”

The droid chattered while he soldered the wire in place.

“Yes, I know you can, but acceleration compensators are too fragile for astromech repairs. Only humans or V7 class repair droids are supposed to work on these things.” Putting the soldering iron down, he leaned backwards, arms behind him for support as he stretched his back out. “Judging from the metal searing, that’s probably how this bitch got fractured to begin with. Someone just set a droid on it without bothering to read the specifications.”

ND-7B’s blue head came into view as it rotated down his body, peering at Ben with his front optic sensor. The droid’s was a flat headed BB unit, with a small notch removed from the left side of his head where some amatuer had added a modulating frequency antenna. It rotated, a small curved piece of metal, at the end of a 4 inch durasteel rod.

Whoever had done the mod had done a shit job. It was amazing that the antenna even worked.

Endy let out a defensive beep and Ben laughed again, “I’m sure it wasn’t you.” He sighed, looking up at the dangling tangle of wires. It was going to take _hours_ to get this thing back together.

“You tearing our ships apart again, Solo?”

Ben rolled his eyes, scooting out from under the fighter. Wincing at the pins and needles in his legs he pulled himself to his feet up. Poe Dameron was in his flight suit and must have just gotten back to D’Qar from whatever mission he’d been on. “Cracking them open is kind of necessary to fix them, Dameron.”

Poe leaned against the side of the X-Wing while Ben brushed dirt off his pants. The blue nylar pants and white maloshet shirt were too nice for this sort of work, but none of the standard issue Resistance maintenance coveralls fit him. His mother insisted on buying him clothes, all of them of far finer material than the duranex coveralls.

Not that he should complain, they were a lot more comfortable than his old sackcloth robes. But he couldn't help but feel guilty when he got them dirty.

“Such a waste.” Poe shook his head.

“I’m pretty sure patching a damaged compensator instead of just replacing the damn thing is the opposite of a waste.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about.”

Ben raked a hand through his black hair and shrugged, “Yeah well.”

“Six years now and she’s still keeping you chained to the base.” Poe shook his head, “Maintenance? You’re a pilot. A fighter. We need people like you out there with us.”

“It’s not a big deal.” He reached down, collecting his tools to put them back in his bag. “I’m not even sure if I’m going to keep sticking around. My dad keeps trying to get me to come and give him and Chewy a hand.”

“Oh hell.” Poe huffed, folding his arms across his chest.

“What?”

“Ben.”

“Yeah, what?”

“Look, not like I have any disrespect for Han—”

Ben rolled his eyes, picking his bag up and heading towards the barracks. His back was killing him and he needed a break from the bullshit.

Poe took several bounding steps to cut him off, spreading his hands, “You know the shit he’s doing isn’t legal, right?”

“The shit you’re doing here? The shit the Resistance is doing? You know it isn’t legal, right?” Ben parroted back.

“It’s different.” Poe pointed his finger in Ben’s face. “This—there’s a lot of remnants of the Empire still out there.”

“I’m aware,” he pushed Poe’s hand away, fighting the urge to punch him. Nothing pissed him off worse than someone getting in his face. He took a deep breath, calming himself as he shouldered his way past Poe. “My mother talks about it constantly.”

“Okay, okay.” Poe followed on Ben’s heels. “Calm down.”

“Plenty calm.” He kept walking, looking straight ahead.

“I’m going to talk to her. About you.”

That brought him to a halt, rolling his shoulders in an exasperated sigh as he turned around. “Don’t. Just don’t.”

“We need you. You belong with the Resistance."

Ben rolled his eyes, looking up over Poe’s shoulder as the man kept talking. There was a ship coming in, an older model X-Wing. He watched it as it came closer as Poe rambled on about how important the Resistance's main directive was.

It didn’t look like one from the Resistance’s fleet. Too old. It did look familiar though, oddly familiar. Like—

His eyes widened as he felt a presence that was also very familiar.

“The hell are you doing here?” he muttered nervously under his breath.

“What?” Poe asked, looking confused.

“Nothing,” Ben turned and headed towards the barracks. “It’s nothing. I need to go lay down. Just leave me alone, Poe.”

“I’m going to talk to her,” Poe called after him.

“Do whatever you want.” Ben raised his voice but didn’t look back. “Just leave me the hell alone.”

* * *

The barracks, like most of the base outside the landing strips, was in part of the underground ruins the Resistance had claimed and retrofitted into something useable. Walls and floors of ancient stone were covered with roots from the forests that grew above. Bunks were evenly spaced in open rows, offering no real privacy. Utility and maximization of space took precedence over comfort and privacy.

After tucking his bag under his low bunk, he rolled himself onto the bed. It was too small for him, his feet hung off the end and he had to press his arms to his side to keep them from dangling down the sides. He stared at the bottom of the upper bunk, taking a shaky breath and closing his eyes.

It was nothing. Six years had past and it wasn’t like he’d tried to contact him over any of those. Probably here for something else, some business with his mom. There was no need for this impending feeling of dread, right? It was pretty clear between them that he wanted nothing to do with him anymore.

Ben snorted, pulling his pillow out from behind his head and using it to cover his eyes. Luke had never given a shit about what someone else wanted if it got in the way of what he thought he needed.

“Hey, Solo!”

He pulled the pillow fully over his face, muffling stream of curses he was uttering into it.

Footsteps came closer, “Solo! Organa wants you in her office.”

When he didn’t move, the steps kept approaching, pausing next to his bunk. The metal creaked and the bed shifted as the person leaned against it.

“Ben?”

Sighing he pulled the pillow down past his eyes. Snap was leaning against the top bunk, looking down, one eyebrow raised in a mixture of exasperation and amusement.

“Your mother would like to see you.”

“Why?” He spoke, voice muffled into the pillow.

“Don’t know.” Snap shrugged. “Or care?”

Ben rolled his eyes and tossed the pillow so it bounced off Snap’s torso before falling to the floor. Groaning, he sat up, sitting awkwardly on the side of the bunk.

“I’m like the seventh person who got passed the message to go tell you.” Snap stepped back to give Ben room to get up. “I heard a visitor was on base. Someone who flew in an old fighter.”

Getting to his feet, Ben heaved a sigh, crossing his arms.

Snap punched him lightly on the shoulder before turning to walk away, “Don’t keep mommy waiting, Benny.”

“Fuck you,” Ben called, drawing out the vowels of each word. Snap waved a hand behind him in response, not bothering to look back.

Rubbing a hand across his face, he took a deep breath, closing his eyes and concentrating on calming his nerves. A few minutes took the worst of the edge off his anxiety, which was probably the best he could hope for right now.

Taking one last deep breath, he headed back down the length of the barracks towards the command center.

* * *

“There you are,” Leia said as he slipped through the door to her office, waving him to the chair next to her.

He hesitated, his eyes resting on the man sitting in the chair opposite her and shifting his jaw. Luke looked older than he remembered him, more weathered. He also looked horrible— pale, face bruised and covered with healing scrapes, a bandage wrapped around his flesh hand. A wood crutch leaned against the chair he was sitting on, and he sat with one leg bandaged and splinted leg stretched out in front of him.

“Hello, Ben,” Luke said, calmly. Face emotionless and blue eyes unreadable.

Swallowing down the lump in his throat, he walked over to stand behind the chair his mother had motioning to. His hands gripped the back of the chair tightly as he looked up to meet his uncle’s eyes. “You look like shit.”

“Ben!”

Leia’s voice was sharp, scolding. He ignored it, “The temple’s bacta budget run out or something?”

The emotionless facade Luke was wearing broke as he let out a snorting laugh, gripping his side and wincing, clearly finding laughing painful. Shifting in his seat Luke gave Ben a grimacing smile, “No, we got plenty. But apparently the vibroblade that carved me up a bit was coated in bactacide”

“Bacta-what?”

“Some kind of chemical agent that kills bacta on contact, rendering it useless for healing.” Luke nodded at Ben’s raised eyebrows, “Yeah, we didn’t know something like that existed either. The medics think it’s going to eventually wear out of my system, but until then I’m going to have to heal without the help.” He motioned to the chair in front of Ben, “Why don’t you have a seat?”

“Why don’t you tell me why I’m here first?”

“Ben!” He could feel Leia’s withering glare, and made the mistake of turning to meet her eyes. Suddenly he felt like he was eight years old and had been caught tracking mud through the house. She raised her eyebrows and pointed to the chair. “Sit. Down.”

  
Shifting his gaze to look at the ceiling, he took a deep breath and then did as he was told.

“Thank you,” his mother said, bending down to pull a datapad out of a bag and handing it over to him. “The last five or six months we’ve been tracking what appears to be a new, or rather new to us, Imperial remnant in the unknown regions.”

Not sure where this was going, Ben opened the datapad files and thumbed through the contents. Reports of several incidents. Attacks on outposts. Vessels gone missing under suspicious circumstances.

“We don’t know who they are, but they appear to be well organized, and well supplied, with manufacturing capabilities for ships, armor, and weaponry.”

He pressed a button and a poor quality holo capture of a soldier in red stormtrooper armor popped up. “Red. Classy.”

“This is something the Resistance is taking quite seriously, Ben,” Leia scolded.

Looking up, Ben glanced at Luke and then back to his mother, “I’m afraid I don’t see what this has to do with me?”

“Lor San Tekka is dead.”

Ben turned his head sharply to look at Luke, who was studying his bandaged hand. When he looked up again, his eyes belied the flat expression on his face, filled with grief, sadness, and maybe even fear. “There was an attack on the village of Tuanal, on Jakku, where he’s been living the last few years.”

San Tekka hadn’t exactly been a friend, or a mentor, but Ben had always liked the man. He couldn’t wrap his head around the idea of the man being gone. When he was a kid he’d even looked up to the old relic hunter.

“You think they were behind the attack?” he waved the datapad.

“There were two transports of the _classy_ troopers, so yes, it’s safe to say it was them.”

“You were there?”

Luke raised his eyebrows in that way of his, the way that implied only a total idiot would ask that question. He glanced down at his leg and then back to Ben, tilting his head as if silently asking if Ben thought he’d gotten his injuries while guiding meditation back at the temple.

Ten minutes back in Luke’s presence and he already was feeling completely inadequate. The man just had an amazing talent for creating those emotions.

He dropped the datapad onto his lap, “I still don’t understand what this has to do with me.”

“Lor had been on the trail of something. A legend from the old texts— a Sith homeworld.”

“Another?” Ben waved his hand dismissively. Korriban. Moraband. At some point maybe they needed stop calling them Sith homeworlds and just call them Sith worlds.

“Yes,” Luke didn’t hide the irritation creeping into his voice. “But different. The legends say Exegol was the heart of the Sith’s war machine during the Great War. All the secrets and perversions of science the Sith knew were researched there. Lor suspected it would be a tomb of ancient weapons, relics, and information. The potential, and danger, of the place is great.” Luke shook his head, reaching up with his gloved, mechanical hand to tap a finger against his lips. “A colleague of Lor’s believed he’d found a piece of a map of hyperspace points that would lead to this planet. The outpost he was living on was attacked a few days after he passed the artifact to Lor.”

“By this same imperial remnant?”

“That’s when Lor contacted me, because he was afraid someone else was after it. I was at Tuanal getting it from him when the attack came. I barely was able to escape with it.”

Ben frowned as he glanced between Luke and his mother, “Not to sound like a droid with its voice matrix stuck in a loop, but _what_ does this have to do with me?”

“Luke believes there’s at least one more additional map fragment out there.” Leia explained, flicking her eyes over at Luke in an uneasy way. “And that there are clues to how to find it on a planet in the Expansion Region. He’s asked for the Resistance’s help in trying to find it.”

He couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled out of him as he looked between his uncle and his mother. “And the Resistance help is me?”

“Ben,” Leia sighed quietly.

“No.” He got to his feet, “I can’t even believe—”

“Ben!”

Now her voice was scolding, chastising. It was fuel thrown on the growing flames of irritation. He turned, waving a finger at Leia, “Six years. Six. I’ve been here and you’ve made sure I’ve never left this base doing anything related to the Resistance. Now he shows up and suddenly you’re just fine with—”

Leia got to her feet and he snapped his mouth shut, fighting the urge to step back as she came close, glaring up into his face and pointing over towards the door, “A word.”

Swallowing, he followed her when she turned and lead him across the room. She stopped in front of the door, turning and glaring at him as he shifted his weight from foot to foot.

“Look,” she began, her voice low to keep the conversation private. “I don’t—”

“You can’t even pretend you would be sending me out if he wasn’t the one asking,” he snapped, trying to keep his own voice low.

The look she gave him as she crossed her arms across her chest could have melted durasteel. He cringed, looking down, as she spoke began again, “I don’t know what happened between you and your uncle. And frankly? I don’t care.” Ben cast her a glance and then looked away. “That’s why I never asked. You had a falling out, it’s unfortunate. Whatever.”

He rolled his eyes up to look at the ceiling and huffed. 

“And you’re right, I’d much rather it not be you, but Luke is adamant that he needs you to do this.”

“Always willing to give him what he wants.” Always. She had always given in to Luke when he pushed her. It didn’t matter what he had wanted. Or what Dad had wanted. Or even what she had wanted. Luke always was able to get her to give into him.

Leia stepped closer and he resisted the urge to step back. Her hand reached up, cupping his face. “There’s not a lot that scares me, Ben. But this remnant? Whoever they are? They scare me. They’re organized, well armed, and well equipped. And they managed that while remaining unnoticed till now. If they’re looking for something, I want to be sure they don’t find it.”

There was a thump across the room. Luke had hauled himself to his feet and was limping over to the room’s one window. He stopped there and looked out into the distance in thought.

“I need you to go do this for me. Not for Luke. For me.” Leia raised her eyebrows and pushed his chin up to force him to meet her eyes. “Okay?”

He shifted his jaw, swallowing and giving a curt nod. Fine. For her.

“Leia, could I speak to Ben alone?” Luke asked, still gazing out the window.

Ben stiffened.

“Of course,” Leia reached out and squeezed Ben’s shoulder. “I actually need to go touch base with Ackbar. I’ll be back in ten minutes or so.”

The door click as it shut behind her seemed far louder than it should have been. He took a step back, and leaned against the wall next to the door. It was stupid, but being near the exit made him feel better.

For at least a minute, Luke said nothing, he just kept staring out the window at the landing strips outside.

“You didn’t tell her.” Luke said, finally. “Why you left the temple, you didn’t tell her.”

“What makes you so sure I didn’t?”

Luke turned, awkwardly hopping on his one good leg while leaning on the crutch. Tilting his head and shrugging as he met Ben’s eyes. “I don’t have a broken nose to top off the rest of this.”

Ben laughed, maybe slightly bitterly. Luke just gave a rueful smile and hobbled back over to his chair.

“You should have talked to me before you left.” Luke sighed. “I could have… or at least I could have tried…”

Ben looked up at the ceiling, “I was asleep—”

“I understand the confusion.”

“—and I woke up—”

“And that I was not behaving sensibly…”

_Sensibly?_

“You were standing over me, holding a lit lightsaber.”

Luke gave a surprisingly sheepish shrug, sitting down hard in the chair. He propped the crutch between his legs. “Not my best moment.”

“Not your best _moment_? Threatening to kill me for no reason in the middle of the night? You’re lucky I hadn’t panicked and tried to defend myself!”

“I wasn’t threatening to kill you.”

Ben shook his head, “Oh, did you just randomly walk into my room at night and hold a lit saber over me to see me better?”

“I saw… a vision… a premonition, I don’t know,” Luke rubbed his chin, wincing as he touched a bruise. “And reacted, impulsively, for a moment.”

“Okay, just so you know, pretty sure talking to you wouldn’t have stopped me from leaving.”

“I’d seen the darkness in you, Ben. Raw strength. Power. And good, understand I’ve always see that there is so much good in you— but also I’d seen the anger, resentment, even hate. Those dark threads, they run through you, and they scared me.”

“Yeah, really wouldn’t have helped.”

Luke tilted his head, annoyed, “Just let me finish.”

“Oh, by all means, continue.”

“I went that night— and I shouldn’t have, I know, I shouldn’t have— but because I was worried, I just wanted to look into your head and try to understand what was going on with you. And when I did, I had a vision of death and destruction— a ruin of everything I’ve ever loved and worked to build.”

“By me.” Ben couldn’t keep the exasperation out of his voice.

“It felt real. Like an omen and I just…” Luke looked down, watching the crutch as he slowly turned it. “I reacted.” He looked up again and raised his hand, speaking faster, “Just for a moment. Only a moment. Then it passed.”

“So, you went to look into my mind— without my permission, let’s just make a note of that part of this— then hallucinated I was going to destroy everything, then… what? Thought about killing me and lit your lightsaber?”

“When you put it like that it does sound really bad.” Luke bobbed his head from side to side, “I guess talking probably wouldn’t have helped.”

“You’re crazy. You do realize that?”

“It was just an impulse. I came to my senses horrified with myself, that I could, even for that fraction of a second, have thought—”

Ben cut him off, “Can we stop talking about this? Because I really think we need to stop talking about it.”

“I’m sorry, Ben.”

“Yeah, right, I’m sure you are. You thought about killing me in my sleep, but you’re sorry, so it’s okay.”

Luke gave him a look, “I haven’t figured out if you got your sarcastic streak from spending your formative years with me or just genetically inherited it from Han, but either way it’s really unnecessary now.”

A muscle twitched under Ben’s eye and he looked away, closing his eyes. Deep breaths, find your center and calm your nerves. Once he felt them settle enough, he opened his eyes again and met Luke’s gaze. “Are we done?”

“No.” Luke shook his head, expression growing more grave. “I have more to tell you about Tuanal.”

“You were there, there was an attack, there were red Stormtroopers, San Tekka was killed. What more do I need to know?”

“There were more than just the stormtroopers. There were, others. And a girl.”

“A girl?”

“Yes.”

“What girl.”

“A strong one,” Luke snipped, waving Ben towards him. “It’ll be easier if you let me show you.”

“So apparently the last time you were in my head you freaked out and nearly killed me—” Ben frowned, tapping one of his feet on the floor.

“Ben, just—” Luke took a deep breath, held it a moment, and then exhaled. He continued, sounding much calmer, “Please. You need to understand.”

“Fine.” He walked over to Luke, kneeling down so Luke could press a hand against his temple. There was pressure, a push, and then the memory began to replay in his mind.

> _He was just past the outskirts of the village, getting his X-Wing ready to leave. Artoo is already latched in, running the pre-flight preparations. He had the artifact— a data stick, a very old one, judging by the design. Once they were back at the temple they would analyze it and see if it really was as important as Lor thought._
> 
> _The sound of the engines drowned out any noise the incoming transports would have made. It isn’t until Artoo lets out an alarmed beep that he realizes that there are ships coming._
> 
> _Too late. By the time he scrambles down from the X-Wing, yelling to Artoo to keep the ship running. Too late. He doesn’t even make it back into the village before its overrun with troopers. Blood red troopers._
> 
> _There’s a full on battle and villagers are dying._
> 
> _It’s mayhem. He reaches the edges of the battle, unlit lightsaber in hand. A pair of troopers raise their blasters at him and he raises his hand and uses the force to throw them like rag dolls as he lights his saber. Batting away blaster bolts and directing them back into the troopers firing them. Buildings are burning. Smoke, blood, blaster fire._
> 
> _As he Something else. There’s something else. Cold._
> 
> _Dark._
> 
> _He looks across the village to see a third transport landing. It’s hatch opening like a gaping mouth hissing smoke. A gaping mouth that unleashes hell itself._
> 
> _They’re are maybe a dozen of them, spilling out down the ramp. Dressed in black armor, faces covered by masked black helmets of different shapes and designs, carrying weapons far more brutal than blasters. Vibroblades and axes, spears, pikes. Melee weapons that are quickly and efficiently put to use. They carve their way through villagers, not caring if their target is fighting or fleeing._
> 
> _It’s hard to tell for sure, and it’s not like it matters, but he gets the impression that they’re female._
> 
> _He starts fighting his way towards them as another figure appears from the fog of hovering around the ramp of the transport. This one is smaller, wearing a dark robe and hood. She walks down through the battle, unaffected by the carnage and chaos._
> 
> _Two of the masked ones emerge from a hut, dragging Lor out between them. He grits his teeth and tries to get over to help his friend._
> 
> _But he doesn’t get far before an axe nearly takes his head off. He ducks just in time, the blade skimming his hair, and backflips to get some space from his attacker._
> 
> _Her mask appears to be designed to look like a skull. He raises his hand and tries to throw her back with the force—_
> 
> _She manages to block it, only stumbling back a step, and then lunging forward to attack. He blocks skullface’s axe with his saber, green sparks shooting off the lightsaber resistant metal of the shaft where it connects with his blade._
> 
> _In his peripheral, he can see Lor being thrown down on his knees in front of the robed one._
> 
> _His attacker catches him distracted and uses it to slam an elbow into his face. He curses and manages to land a kick to skullface’s stomach, knocking her back and managing to unlock their blades._
> 
> _He makes another attempt to get over to Lor, but doesn’t get far. Skullface leaps into his path._
> 
> _The robed figure lowers her hood, revealing a girl— barely a young woman by her looks. Her face looks delicate, almost soft. Long brown hair has complicated braids along the side that merge into one braid that appears to run down her back, the end hidden in the folds of her hood._
> 
> _The masked ones that had dragged Lor out notice him. One of them, her mask just a long, flat surface broken only by an eye slit, draws a vibrosword and comes to skullface’s aid._
> 
> _Two on one does not go well. The fight is a blur and he’s not coming out on top. Blankface is a much better fighter than skullface. She lands a grazing blow across his side and he can feel the blood soaking the sides of his robes._
> 
> _He can’t see him, but he hears Lor screaming._
> 
> _Skullface lands a jab with the staff of her axe right to the chest. He stumbles back a step, dropping to the ground to avoid blankface’s blade. Rolling he leaps to his feet, spins, and manages to impale skullface on his saber. Her axe falls to the sand. She follows after he rips his blade free._
> 
> _Blankface seems pissed about her colleagues demise, she comes at him with renewed rage, driving him back, and pummeling him when their blades lock. He manages to break from one lock and tries to spin away to create some distance to maneuver, but as he goes her blade slashes through the front of his thigh and he falls, losing his saber. Blankface wastes no time and is upon him. He rolls, narrowly dodging her blade as it comes down, ignoring the pain of the sand now getting into his open wounds. His hand hits something hard— skullface’s vibroaxe. He grabs it and swings as blankface strikes at him._
> 
> _It connects where her shoulder meets her neck. She staggers, her vibrosword falling from her hand before collapses._
> 
> _A shriek cuts through deafening rush of blood in his ears. He turns his head to see the girl, facing him now, teeth bared and hands clenched. Lor is on his hands and knees at her feet, head bowed and breathing hard._
> 
> _She pulls something off her belt, but it isn’t until the flickering, unstable red blades, two of them side by side, leap from it that he even realizes it’s a lightsaber of some sort. She flicks her wrist and the second blade swings away from the first, the hits snapping together to form a saberstaff._
> 
> _Without breaking eye contact with him, she raises the staff up and slams the lower blade through Lor’s back, the blade exploding from the front of his chest._
> 
> _He screams now in his own rage, hand opening and calling his own saber to him. Adrenaline and anger giving him the strength to get back to his feet._
> 
> _She rips the blade free, slicing a gash through Lor’s torso, and charges as he ignites his saber. Their blades cross in a rain of green and red sparks. Her expression is absolutely feral, bared teeth like some kind of animal, face contorted with rage._
> 
> _“He gave it to you,” she snarls, landing a kick to the open wound on his thigh. He stumbles back and nearly falls._
> 
> _The artifact. It was in his bag back in the X-Wing._
> 
> _The girl nearly impales him, but he is able to freeze her for just a split second, enough for him to dodge out of the way. It enrages her, and she throws her hand up and he’s sent flying before he could even try to block._
> 
> _He lands in a heap, rolling back, realizing she’d thrown him the direction of his X-Wing. He rolls to his knees and hits her hard with the force. Sending her stumbling backwards and giving him more time. Getting to his feet, channeling the force for the strength. He runs._
> 
> _She’s after him, but he has a head start, and he somehow gets himself to his ship and into the cockpit. He opens fire with the X-Wing’s guns while he revs the thrusters. She has to dodge and block the bolts, giving him just enough time to get off the ground._

The memory fades. Ben’s still on his knees, heart pounding and chest heaving as if he’d been the one who’d just been through the fight.

“Who the hell was that?” he asked.

“I have no idea,” Luke answered. He sounded calm, but that calmness didn’t make it to his eyes, which were tense and sharp. “All I know is that if Exegol exists, I want to be sure they sure as hell never find it.”


	2. Chapter 2

The sound of her footsteps echoed through the room as she crossed it.

It was an impressive feat of architecture— a hollowed out underground cavern, massive pillars staggered evenly throughout to support the rock above. Intricate carvings covered the pillars and the walls. Depictions of battle, death, destruction.

Victory.

_Through victory, my chains are broken._

Along the wall lit by torches, was a shallow trough cut through the stone, a layer of fine ash dusting it’s bottom. Pedestals of black stone dotted along it, each supporting an urn of black durasteel and a masked helmet. Memorials to Knights that had fallen in battle, some long before she was ever born.

Her ten Knights formed a semicircle around two empty pedestals. They parted as she approached, letting her step through. She stopped in the center of their circle, turning and holding out her hands.

Ja’qul stepped forward, the torch light reflecting off the surface of her face mask, and offered a black urn.

She took it and walked up to the first empty pedestal.

“Navar Ren, our sister, who died in glory and honor.” She set the urn down, turning to accept the skull faced helmet another Knight had stepped forward to offer. Gently, she set it down behind the urn. Stepping back and turning hands extended. Erisi stepped forward another urn in her hands.

Taking it, she paused to stare down at for a few moments, jaw clenched, before turning to walk to the second pedestal.

“Estal Ren, our sister—” she took a deep breath, “who died in glory and honor.”

Once the urn was placed, she turned to take the helmet that was offered to her.

Her hands shook slightly as stared into the smooth metal of the facemask. Swallowing, she turned, setting the mask down to join the urn.

Stepping back, she drew a dagger from the pocket of her robe. “Navar, loyal servant to the Ren.” Gritting her teeth, she slashed the dagger across her palm. “The blood of your Master releases you from your service. Be one with the Shadow.”

“The Shadow,” the Knights echoed as she placed her bleeding palm on top of Navar’s mask, her blood dripping down the front and side.

After a minute, she pulled her hand back, clenching it to a fist as she walked over to the second urn and mask. “Estal, loyal servant to the Ren. The blood of your Master releases you from service. Be one with the Shadow.”

“The Shadow,” the Knights echoed together again.

She opened her fist, resting her bleeding palm on the helmet. Bowing her head closer to it, she murmured, too quiet for the Knights to hear, “I shall find the one who did this. You will rest upon his ashes, my friend. I swear this.”

Her fingers tightened for a moment around the top of the helmet, then she stepped back and pulling a small cloth sack from another robe pocket. She opened it, looking down at the ash that filled it. Remains of the villagers whose bodies they had piled together and burned after the battle.

There was some satisfaction to know the old man she had struck down after pulling the useful information from his mind was in mixed in, but that was not enough to make up for knowing that the one that had struck down her knights had not been among those dead.

Stepping forward, she poured the ashes into the trough along the base of Navar and Estal’s pedestals. “Rest eternal upon the ashes our enemies.”

One day _his_ ashes would join these. She would make sure of it.

Once the bag was empty, she turned, the Knights parting once more to let her pass. She walked across the room, pulling a black cloth from her pocket, she wound it around her bleeding hand, watching as the Knights each went and knelt before the memorials to pay respect to their fallen sisters.

“Kira!” a low voice from just outside the entrance. “Kira Ren!”

She turned her head to look as the old man stepped into view, a purple cloak hanging from his shoulders. He stopped a few steps from the threshold to the room, eyes darting to the Knights on the other side of the room who were rising to their feet and turning to look.

“I would be careful, Arohg. If one not of the Ren enters the catacombs, the toll required will be paid in his blood.” She wiped her dagger clean on the sleeve of her robe before she looked up again to meet the man’s irritated eyes. His older advisors were the worst. Entitled. Impatient. “Why are you disturbing us?”

Arohg’s lips tightened in irritation. “ _He_ wishes an audience with you. Now.”

Kira sheathed the knife and slipped it into a pocket, taking a few deep breaths. Of course he did.

“Yes, I was about to leave to go see him, now that my duties here are done,” she said, pushing past the old man. “I won’t keep him waiting.”

* * *

The room was on the upper levels of the temple, a maze of ornate dividers and curtains that hung from the ceiling. Wires snaked across the floor from the ancient machines that rumbled behind the curtains, leading to the bed in the center of the room.

Curtains were pulled around the bed, leaving only a narrow gap where they opened. Green and red light flickered from the machinery within, leaving a shadowed outline visible of the man inside.

“My child,” his voice rasped. “I have been waiting.”

She walked over to the side of the bed, dropping to one knee and bowing her head, “I’m sorry, Grandfather. I had duties to attend to for the Knights.”

“Yes, I heard of your loss.” There was a colder edge to his voice and she winced. “At the village.”

“Two of the Knights fell in battle, but the battle was not lost,” defensiveness creeped into her voice.

“Oh,” he let out a wheezing laugh. “Then you have what I sent you to retrieve?”

“I— do not.” She bit her lip.

He laughed again, a shadow of his hand waved behind the curtains towards a chair next to the bed. “Come sit, child.”

She rose, walking over and sitting down stiffly, staring down at her hands.

“I sense your distress. Is it over the fallen Knights?”

“Yes.”

“You, more than anyone, should know there is no death more honorable for the Ren than to fall in battle.”

She wrung her hands together, “I know, but I still mourn them. I have known Estal since I was a child.”

“The affection you have for your Knights is understandable, Kira. But do not forget that they are tools to achieve our goals.”

When she didn’t respond he spoke again, voice shifting to a kinder tone. “Perhaps I was foolish to think you could handle this mission. To return to that place… I should have realized it would be too distracting.”

“I was not distracted,” she snapped. “Being back on Jakku did nothing but give me hatred and anger that I could channel into my power.”

“And yet, you failed,” his voice dipped cold again. “If there is a way to restore me, we shall find it on Exegol. I can not be sustained this way forever. Soon we will be left with only one option.”

Kira shook her head, “No. That will not happen. I cannot—”

“In the sacrifice, my essence will live on in you, and you shall ascend.”

“You are the only family I have left,” she whispered, before raising her voice, determined. “We will find Exegol. There was a man, a lightsider,” she hated how nervous she sounded. “The one who killed my Knights. Who escaped with the artifact.”

The room suddenly felt colder. There was a jerking motion behind the curtain and her grandfather’s arm appeared from the small gap in the curtains. A cold, stiff hand, lined with tubes and wires, fell onto her knee. “Show me,” he hissed. “This lightsider. Show me him.”

Shivering, she placed her hand on top of the chalky skin of his and pictured the man from the village.

His hand convulsed, fingers digging into the flesh of her knee with a bruising grip. “ _Skywalker_.”

The name meant nothing to her, but the rage seething from her grandfather seemed to be filling the room.

She started talking, quickly, wanting to distract him, “There’s something else. Something I saw in the old man’s mind when I was trying to find where he hid the artifact.” The grip on her knee loosened slightly. “The artifact they had was only a piece. There’s at least one more needed to complete it. They didn’t know where it was, but he believed there was something on a world called Pasaana that would tell one where to go to find it.”

“Pasaana,” the hand released her knee and jerkily retreated behind the curtain. “Is well within the New Republic territory. Sending Sith Troopers or even the Knights of Ren would be too much risk of exposure.”

“Then I will go alone.” Kira tilted her chin up.

“Skywalker will be looking for it as well.”

"With the battle wounds we gave him, he won't be looking anytime soon." She smirked. “I will find the location, and I will retrieve the rest of the map. And I will find the piece that was taken, find this _Skywalker_. He is going to pay for what he did.”

Her grandfather laughed, a pleased laugh. “The anger in you, child, the hate. Yes, use it. But Skywalker—” he drew out the name into a hiss. “Do not underestimate Skywalker. He, or any of his blood, should be considered our mortal enemy.”

“I am not afraid of him.”

"Good." He let out a pleased laugh, "Good."

* * *

He squinted into the sun, shielding his eyes as he finished scanning over the X-Wing. It was one of the older models in the Resistance fleet, and he knew better than anyone that the older models had a heap of issues. The last thing he wanted was to be stranded on some desert planet in the Expansion Region trying to figure out how to get back once this was over with.

Luke had detailed what he knew about Pasaana, much from his own visit to the planet fifteen or so years ago. The local Aki Aki were friendly and generally welcoming, so there wasn’t likely to be any sort of issue there. The region he was supposed to look was in an area of eroded sandstone hills.

Beyond that, there wasn’t much to go on. San Tekka’s lead was that somewhere in a vast maze of caverns below those hills, there was some kind of artifact that contained a clue.

He shook his head as he finished looking over the fighter. With that level of detail how could he not succeed?

“I didn’t believe it when they told me," a voice called from behind him.

Ben gave an annoyed glance over his shoulder to see Poe and Snap both walking over. Poe just spread his hands, “You finally got her to cut the leash?”

“Not really,” he turned, stepping back to lean against the ship, slipping his hands into the pockets of his slacks. There wasn’t any real reason he could see that he’d need to bother with a flight suit, it wasn’t like he was going into battle. Black slacks, a relaxed white shirt with the collar open, and a black vest. A blaster holster was slung low on his right thigh, and his lightsaber hung further up on his hip again for the first time in years. “More like lending the leash to my uncle. Sending me on this wild bantha chase is her doing a favor for him.”

“Nah, nah, once you’re out she can’t take it back,” Poe slapped Ben on his shoulder. “This is how it starts, my man.”

“Have you met my mother?” Ben snorted. “I appreciate the optimism though.”

“Ben!” He looked over Snap’s shoulder to see one of his fellow mechanics hurrying over. She unslung a bag from her shoulder, glancing at Poe and Snap as she opened it, black hair bobbing around her face. “Sorry to interrupt but I have a huge backlog of repairs so I only a few minutes.” She pulled out a very old and rather unwieldy piece of equipment, odd wires and antennas sticking out at random places, “First this. It’s old and you might have to whack it a few times to get it to turn itself on, but I think I got it functional.”

“What… is that?” Snap asked, squinting at it.

“Is that?” Ben leaned closer, “Rose, where the hell did you even find a portable one of those?”

“A portable one of what?” Poe glanced at Snap. “I seriously have no idea at all what that is.”

“It’s an echometer,” Ben and Rose said in unison.

Poe and Snap shared a confused glance. Rose gave them an irritated look, “It’s sends out a pulse and can map out what’s underground. Usually they’re used by miners to locate mineral deposits, but it absolutely could also—”

“ —be used to find caves or caverns,” Ben finished. “Which will likely be helpful. I do appreciate it.”

Rose grinned, handing it over by a threadbare shoulder strap. “The rest isn’t quite as cool,” she pulled out a small, tubular object. “Distress pulser, just in case. And then—” she pulled out a small bag, “field repair kit, also just in case.”

He took the pulser, then the repair kit, which he opened and glanced through the content. The tools were all in good shape, and it had durabond tape, a pen welder, and other goodies. “Nice.”

“That is mine,” Rose shrugged, “just give it back when you’re home again.” She shook her head excitedly, “I still can’t believe you’re going on a mission for Luke Skywalker!”

“It’s really not that big a deal.” Ben rubbed the bridge of his nose. Rose had spent an hour the night before excitedly asking him questions about his mission when she found out. It was awkward as hell how much she revered Luke and he couldn't bring himself to tell her the man wasn't all she was making him out to be.

“You do realize ol’ Benny-boy was, like, Luke Skywalker’s apprentice?” Snap asked, teasingly.

“Yeah, but that was in the past and this is doing something for him now!” Rose turned, stepping forward to point her finger up at Snap’s face. “And don’t call him Benny. His name’s Ben!”

Ben’s face was suddenly way too hot. “Rose, it’s not—“ he mumbled.

Snap laughed, looking down at Rose slightly incredulously, “What? It’s a nickname.”

“He hates it!”

“It’s not a big deal, please it’s not,” Ben blurted out, words running into each other. Poe and Snap were both glancing at him sideways, bemused. Rose being all of five foot two and getting in Snap’s face in his defense was something they were never going to let him live down.

Rose just glowered at Snap before taking a step back and shrugging at Ben, “I better get back to work. There’s a jammed landing gear on an A-Wing that they need back in service. Let me know if you need something, I’ll try to figure out a way to help.” She turned, looking back over her shoulder, as she walked away, “Luke Skywalker! So cool!”

Once she was far enough away, Snap and Poe turned their heads to look at him. He did his best not to meet their eyes, glad his ears were hidden under his hair because the way they were burning he was sure they’d be bright red.

“She seems to like him,” Snap said to Poe, rubbing his beard to look like he was deep in thought.

Ben sighed, exasperated, “Give me a break, guys. Rose and I work together, we’re friends.”

“And she knew a lot about his mission, so he must have been talking been talking with her,” Poe ignored Ben, looking at Snap and nodding in agreement.

“Yeah, she’s a friend. I told her what was up last night and she was excited about it.”

Snap snorted, “Oh, she was excited about what was up?”

He rolled his eyes, “Yeah. I ended up showing her my lightsaber and everything.”

“Your—” Poe began.

“—lightsaber?” Snap finished.

Unhooking the lightsaber from his belt, he thumbed the ignition. The blue blade burst to life and he held his hands out in a small shrug, “Literal lightsaber. Sorry to disappoint.”

They both laughed. Ben spun the saber once before turning it off and clipping it back on his belt.

Poe smacked him on the shoulder, “So if you don’t like being called Benny, how come you never mentioned it?”

“Uh, because I know you’re both assholes who wouldn’t care?”

“Well,” Snap raised his eyebrows as he looked at Poe, “that’s valid.”

“True,” Poe nodded. “True.”

“I need to get back to getting ready,” Ben nodded at the fighter. “I need to hit hyperspace in the next few hours.”

“Right, right, you need anything? Got an astromech set up?” Poe squinted at the ship.

“Yeah, just taking Endy.”

“I’m sure we could get you a newer model if you want?”

Ben shook his head, “Nah, I like Endy.”

“If that’s what you want, okay.” Poe pointed a finger at him. “This is going to be good for you. Opening new doors. Just wait, you’ll see.”

“Just let us know if you need anything to help get ready,” Snap added, backing up a few steps. “We’re here to help—” he winked at Ben, “ _Benny_.”

Rolling his eyes, Ben turned around to pack the gear Rose had given him into one of his bags. The sooner he got this over with the better.

* * *

The TIE was one of their newest designs— top of the line hyperdrive, improved fuel capacity, better maneuverability. It boasted an impressive arsenal of overpowered laser cannons and missiles, plus a stealth field generator for reconnaissance missions. TIE Whisper was a stupid name, but whatever, let the engineers call it what they want. It was a pretty sweet bit of technology.

It was comfortable too. Or at least as comfortable as a fighter could be. Kira rolled her head back and stretched her legs out as much as she could. That was nice considering it was a twelve hour jump. A long time to be in a small cockpit.

At least her early childhood had gotten her used to being in small, confined spaces. Wedging herself into narrow spaces in wreckage to get to the components everyone else had been too large to have access to. Those years when she went by another name still weighed on her in ways she didn’t want to admit. Working and starving and taking beatings if she didn’t manage to deliver enough scrap. Waiting. Waiting and waiting.

Until the Knights had shown up to take her back to her grandfather. Blood and fire and screams— Unkar Plutt’s head rolling in the sand and retribution doled out to any unlucky enough to be in town that day.

The memory made her chest tighten. Many were just scavengers in town to trade. People who struggled like her to survive.

She rubbed her temples, reminding herself, as her grandfather and teachers had told her over and over, that the garbage pickers of Jakku were lessers that were not worth her pity. Navar and Estal’s deaths were still weighing heavily on her, and she was sure that was leading to this new wave of sentiment. Navar had always been loyal, vicious, and proud. And Estal—

Her eyes stung and she blinked. No. No weakness. Estal herself would have told her that. Use your emotions to fuel your power. Trust your instincts. Pity noone. Empower yourself with vengeance.

Passion will lead to strength. Strength will lead to victory.

For a few moments she stared blankly out the viewport at the blue waves of hyperspace. Then shook her head, concentrating on the tasks to come.

First would be to find whatever clue was hidden on this planet, Pasaana. Another sandball, this one with a local culture of Aki Aki which seemed unlikely to be a threat. The details from the old man’s mind were not very specific, but it would leave her to the location where the caves he believed the artifact— some sort of dagger— would be found.

There was no clear indication other than that of where it would be, but she wasn’t worried. Finding hidden things was something she was good at.

Find the knife, decipher the clue, find the second piece of the map. Then… then find this _Skywalker_ and take the other piece of the map back. And take his ashes back to the catacombs to be lain below the masks of her fallen Knights.

_In victory my chains will be broken_ , she thought, the words ringing through her head in conviction. _The Force shall set me free._

* * *

It had been a long time since he’d been allowed to fly, but the exhilaration he felt as he lifted off was the same as always, as was the ease he felt as he maneuvered the ship through the atmosphere. He’d always loved to fly. As a kid, running around with those silly dice his dad liked to hang in the Falcon, he used to tell everyone how he wanted to be a pilot like his father.

Instead his parents had shipped him off to Luke to learn to be a Jedi. And he’d spent ten years trying to be what they all wanted him to be, only to become more and more unhappy with it. Until he woke up with Luke standing over him like some sort of nightmarish version of the man he knew and trusted, face bathed in the green light of his lightsaber.

Apparently a decade of doing everything they ever asked of him only lead his own uncle to believe he was someone dangerous enough to think about killing. Luke had turned the saber off quick after Ben had woken up— but he still wondered if he hadn’t awoken, would Luke had gone through with it? Was him waking up the only thing that made his uncle stop?

He took a deep breath as his chest tightened and his jaw tensed. Anger. Resentment. Luke had at least taught him to recognize the dark emotions when they arose, and taught him the techniques to subdue them. They were always quick to arise, and he learned to be quick to suppress them. Meditation, deep breathing, relax the mind and let go.

Letting go was the hard part. Sometimes he just had to push it back down beneath the surface. Suppress it before it blew up and got him in trouble.

_ There is no emotion, there is peace,  _ he reminded himself as he exhaled.

Endy beeped, the droid’s voice coming through his com wired into his flight helmet. They were in an open space now, moving away from the planet’s gravity well. He tapped in the coordinates with one hand as he replied to the droid, “Yeah, we’ll jump as soon as we’re clear.” Endy beeped again, and Ben shook his head, “No, I haven’t been to Pasaana before, Endy, but I know a little bit about it.”

A querying beep replied, and Ben smiled, “It’s a desert planet, so, dry and sandy.” Endy chattered some more as Ben rested his hand on the lever that would activate the hyperdrive. “I’m sure the sand won’t damage your components. Not a tough little droid like you. But tell you what, when we get back after this I promise to give you a nice cleaning and oil bath. That sound good?”

Happy beeps, Ben grinned. How could anyone not like such a chipper little droid?

The sensors chirped as they cleared the gravity well of D’Qar.

“All right, hold on to your actuators,” he warned, pushing the lever forward and leaping them into hyperspace. “Pasaana here we come.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for the comments and kudos on the first chapter. Now that we have a collision course set, things ought to get interesting soon ;)

**Author's Note:**

> So just to clarify in this canonverse AU-->
> 
> 1) There is no First Order. This also means we won't be seeing most of the characters that originate from the FO (Finn, Hux, Snoke).
> 
> 2) No FO, but there is still a Resistance. They were formed as a way to root out and combat Imperial Remnants that were forming and growing, with the hopes crushing the threats before they could grow more powerful.
> 
> 3) My Knights of Ren are all female because I felt like it.
> 
> 4) Yes, Rey is Palpatine's granddaughter. I hate Rey Palpatine in canon but it works quite well for a dark Rey story.
> 
> Cool? Okay, hold on while I rev this bitch into gear.


End file.
